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K. M. MITCHELL & J. HARLEMAN.

' GAS PRODUGER.

No. 594,483 Patented Nov. 30, 1897.

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GAS PRODUCER.

No. 594,483. Patented Nov. 30, 1897.

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I BY v egg %%ATTOHNEYQ% I UNIT D STATES PATENT rrron KERR M. MITCHELL, or M. JOSEPH, MISSOURI, AND JOHN I-IARLEMAN, or KANSAS CITY, KANSAS.

GAS-PRODUCER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 594,483, dated November 30, 1897.

' Application filed February 5, 1897. Serial No. 622,074. (No niodeL) Be it known that we, KERR M. MITCHELL,

of St. Joseph, in the county of Buchanan and State of Missouri, and JOHN HARLEMAN, of

Kansas City, State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fuel- GaS-Producing Apparatus; and we' do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art'to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying draw-' in gs, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Our invention relates to that class of apparatus for producing gas from fuel, suchas coal or coke;.and our present invention is adapted for using bituminous coal as the main fuel after starting the fire with coke.

The novel features of our invention will be made to appear from the following description and claims. V

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical central section of the apparatus in the line 2 2 of Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a similar section in the line 1 1 of Fig 1, and Fig. 3 a cross-section in the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

A indicates the sheet-iron cylinder or outer shell, and B the brick lining within the same.

0 is the fire-clay retort, oval-shaped in cross-section and tapering toward its top. It is madeowith its Wall imperforate and With longitudinal grooves or channels 0 c, 850.,

on its interior, constituting a continuous series of uninterrupted corrugations extending to the rounded-off top, as shown. The oval form of the retort, while allowing it at the broadest part or diameter of its lower end totween its narrower part or smallerdiameter for the upward passage around the exterior of the retort to the short fire-clay-lined pipe L on its way to the superheaten.

D is the grate; E, a hopper at the top for feeding in the fuel. I

F F F are the cleaning and shaking-up doors, and G the'ash-pit.

H is a superheater at one side of and in direct connection with: the above-named heating apparatus by means of a short large gaspipe L, named below.

I is a steam-jet blower connecting the upper part of the superheater with the space or ashpit beneath the furnace-grate.

' J is an air-inlet valve for the superheater, and K its gas outlet.

L is the gas-pipe connecting the superheater with the space c-surrounding the retort O.

M is a vertical annular flue in the brick lining for carbon gas from the retort, and N is a flue leading-from the top of the retort to thisannular flue M.

The upper doors F not only serve to allow the shaking up of the fuel, but the passages leading inward from them through the brick lining B also serve as a conduit or. flue from or to the annular gas-flue iWL'as indicated by arrows in Fig. 1.

The doorway into the furnace andash-pit for clinkering is shown at P.

Q are dead-plates serving to support the ends of the grate-bars.

. R R, &c., indicate block-tilings or lateral supports for the retort, and their ends rest on rings or projections r.

S S, &c. represent sight-holes through which to ascertain the depth of fuel in the retort, and they are provided with suitable caps s.

T T, &c., are the vertical tubes in the superheater-shell H. A hot-air pipe U, extendin g downward from the top of the superheater, connects with the steam-jet blower I.

V is a cleaning-hole in the base of the superheater, and X is a brick support for this superheater.

Y is the coke chamber or furnace, located just above the grate and between it and the bottom of the retort 0.

Z is a valve for turning on steam tothe blowerI. This valve also draws in air through the superheater H, and its steam is supplied by a steam-pipe 2", which may derive. its steam from any convenient source.

It will be observed that by our process and mechanism the hot air and steam are mixed at the point of entering into the furnace by means of the steam-jet exhauster or blower.

retort, as-described, is to allow the gas from the coal as it is generated to pass downward or upward. If it happens in the descent of the fuel in the retort that the lower part of the fuel in this retort is obstructed, the gases will pass off at the top and then pass down around the annular space into the hot gases from the incandescent fuel and the. tar be made into gas. This annular space around the gas-machine is for the purpose of conveying the carbon-gas, rich in tar and hydrocarbons, and also for the purpose of further carburizing and fixing these oils and tars.

The tilings R, while holding in place and supporting the vertical retort, yet afford a free continuous opening for the passage of the hot gases. The retort being open at its top and connected by means of annular flues or passage-ways for the outlet of gas, it is thus brought down through the hot chamber into the hot gases below.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows, viz: In starting coke is filled in on the grate D, filling the chamber Y up to the bottom of the retort C. Bituminous coal is then gradually fed into the retort. Steam is turned on to the blower by means of valve ,2, which then draws in air through the superheater. The steam and heated air passing up through the coke produce a gas. The hot resultant gases partly pass up around the exterior of the retort and partly through between the corrugations in the channels 0 and the fuel. The gas-exit is at the top, where it passes through a fire-clay-lined pipe L to the superheater II, where the heat of the gas is partly.

given up to the ingoing air to support combustion. The carbon-gas that is produced in the retort is made to pass down either through the corrugations or around the annular space M into the hot gases from the incandescent coke on the grate. The object of bringing the carbon-gas to mix with the hot gas is to heat and convert the tar into gas, thereby giving a more valuable fuel and getting rid of a very objectionable quantity of tar in the mains and valves and which in a short time would clog up and render the machine inoperative.

Superheating the air for producing gas allows of a larger quantity of steam to be used before the fire is cooled down, thus giving a larger quantity of gas.

The cleaning or shaking-up doors are for the purpose of occasional breaking of the eoked coal into smaller lumps and evening up the fire.

Ve claim- 1. In a gas-producer, the combination of a furnace, a retort tapering upward and having its wall imperforate and grooved vertically on its innersurface, and having an annularspace or chamber as described surrounding such retort, and an annular flue surrounding such chamber and in communication at its top with the retort and at its bottom with the cokechamber located between the grate and the bottom of the retort.

2. In combination, the furnace, the tapering imperforate and grooved retort, the annular space or chamber having at its upper end a gasexit pipe, the annular flue M, the superheater, a hot-air pipe and blower, said pipe connecting the superheater at its top with the space beneath the furnace-grate, and a valved steam-pipe communicating with the blower, all substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a gas-producer, the combination with the furnace of a retort oval in its cross-section and having a solid imperforate wall grooved vertically as described on its interior surface, thus affording passages for the gas as generated, to pass either upward or downward in such grooves but not laterally through the wall of the retort.

4. In combination with the furnace, the vertical, tapering, imperforate retort grooved on its interior as described and provided with exterior rings or projections, and block-tilings or lateral supports resting at their inner ends on such rings or projections, all substantially as set forth.

5. In a gas-producer, the combination of a retort having an imperforate wall oval in cross-section, open at its top and internally grooved as set forth, an annular flue or passage around the retort and in direct communication with its top and with the coke-chamber located between the grate and the bottom of the retort, and also in communication with the space surrounding the retort and between .it and said flue, the combination serving not only to permit the hot gases as generated to pass upward or downward in the retortgrooves, but also to pass upward around the exterior of the retort, all substantially as set forth.

6. In combination, the tapering, oval, and internally-grooved retort C, the flue N, leading from the top of this retort, the annular flue M, leading down from the flue N to the bottom of the retort, and the chamber directly surrounding this retort and between it and flue M, and pipe L connecting the upper part of said chamber with the superheater, all substantially as set forth.

7. The furnace and its tapering grooved retort, in combination with the flue N, leading from its top, the flue M, leading down from N to the bottom of the retort, the chamber directly surrounding the retort, the gas-pipe L, the superheater connected by this pipe with such chamber, the hot-air pipe U, connecting the superheater with a steam-jet and leading to the space beneath the grate, all substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

' KERR M. MITCHELL.

JOHN IIARLEMAN.

\Vitnesses:

W. 1. Jonas, J. M. WOLFE.

ICC 

